[at-l] dictionaries

[m_factor@hotmail.com (Mara Factor)]

OK, here's a clarification that works for most people I know...

Plunge step - going down a fairly steep hill with plenty of snow to cushion 
your steps and no significant crust to cause injury.  Let gravity take its 
course and just keep taking huge steps downhill.  This works when there's 
too much snow to glissade down the hill but is still very fast.

Post hole - walking on packed snow (often late in the season) where 
unbeknownest to the hiker, you find a week spot and unexpectedly find your 
foot goes down significantly deeper than most previous steps.  Could just be 
6" lower, but more often knee deep or deeper.

Spruce trap - when the snow gets so deep, you're just sort of following the 
trail which may meander over the tops of spruce trees and bushes.  
Everything is fine until you break through a week spot and fall into a bunch 
of spruce trees (see below).  Trying to get out invariably makes the trap 
bigger and bigger, causing your hiking buddies to laugh really hard at the 
antics you must go through to get out.  They can't help because getting 
close to you means they would jsut fall in, too.  Then, they have to find 
another way around the huge hole you've just created.

So, plunge steps are usually somewhat controlled.  Post holes are really 
annoying and make you put your snowshoes on if they start happening 
repeatedly, and Spruce traps are just something your whole body gets caught 
in occasionally - and once again, may make you put snowshoes on if the snow 
pack isn't solid.

Oh, and one more...

Glissade - on a trail that's totally snow  covered and fairly well packed 
but may have some loose snow on it, when going downhill, you can just ski in 
your boots and slide down the hill - fast and in control.  Seen very often 
on snowfields in the west and Europe but not as frequently on the tree 
covered trails of the northeast.

Nothing like taking five hours to climb a mountain and descending in 15 
minutes.  Whee!!!!!

Mara
Stitches, GAME99

>From: "Susan Buchanan" <buchanan@shentel.net>
>Date: Thu, 14 Feb 2002 07:59:14 -0500
>
>OK, I'm very familiar with the Plunge step.  I learned very quickly in the
>area up in Canada I was out in a couple of winters ago (way east of Gaspe)
>not to walk where the cute little 1 foot tall pine trees were.  I am, of
>course, an experiential learner.  Stepped off the trail to get a picture.
>Plunge.  Head still above the snowline. But only my head.  The legs,
>fortunately, had gotten caught in the top branches of the tall pine tree I
>had tried to walk over.  There is evidently a whole lot of air space caught
>in the branches of the pines as the snow piles up.  You can do a 20 foot
>Plunge Step in that area.
>
>suz
>
>----- Original Message -----
>From: "Bruce W. Calkins" <bcalkins@disaster-relief.net>
>
>
> > The fine art of "walking" through deep snow.  Relates to the Plunge step
> > I.E. the snow covered bridge over the ditch just one foot to the left of
> > where one has stepped.
> >
> >
> > At 10:57 PM 2/13/02 -0500, you wrote:
> > >I'll speak up as part of the "I don't know all these" club:
> > >
> > >what's 'postholing'?

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